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Therapy for psychological disorders takes a variety of forms, but all involve some
relationship focused on improving a person’s mental,
behavioral, or social functioning
What is Therapy?
PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY
Goals:
Healthy individuals are able to release their unconsciously repressed feelings
Techniques Free association: the patient speaks
freely about memories, dreams, feelings Interpretation: the therapist suggests
unconscious meanings and underlying wishes to help the client gain insight and release tension
Insight therapy - Focused on developing an understanding of the problem
Psychoanalysis refers to a set of techniques
for releasing the tension of repression
and resolving unconscious inner
conflicts.
TAKES A LONG TIME!
The therapist may see unconscious meaning in resistance, dreams, and transference.
Resistance: the therapist notices times when the
patient seems blocked in speaking about certain subjects
Interpretation in Psychoanalysis
Dreams: there may be themes or “latent
content” behind the plot of a patient’s dream
Transference: the patient may have reactions
toward the therapist that are actually based on feelings toward someone
from the past
Psychotherapy Examples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS_L8efaJ-E
HUMANISTIC THERAPY
Goals:
Healthy individuals focus on conscious conflicts and strive for self-growth and awareness instead of “curing” inner conflicts
Techniques
Insight therapy & Gestalt therapy
Client-centered therapy
Active listening & Reflection
Unconditional positive regardRemember Gloria and her difficulty with relationships?
Active Listening
Paraphrasing a client’s words to capture the emotional tone expressed
Other techniques used are empathy, genuineness,
and unconditional positive regard .
“You seem as if you’re upset.”
“You look as if you’re a bit down.”
“You act as if you are irritated”
“So what I hear you saying is…”
The tone of voice and body language accompanying the
words must be compassionate, gentle and accepting.
Psychotherapy Examples
Client-Centered approach to Psychotherapy: Carl Rogers & Gloria
https://youtu.be/SgiX0QLnpBM?t=43
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
Goals: Healthy individuals eliminate unwanted
behaviors or other difficulties by using learning principles
Techniques Counterconditioning
Aversive conditioning
Systematic desensitization
Exposure/Flooding therapies
Token economy
UCS
(foul odor) UCR(nausea)
CRCS(cigarette smoke)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xgIE-SKpc
Behavior modification refers to shaping a client’s chosen behavior to
look more like a desired behavior, by making sure that desired behaviors
are rewarded and problematic behaviors are unrewarded or punished.
COGNITIVE THERAPY Goals: Healthy individuals to become
aware of own thoughts and emotions
and emphasize rational thinking for
treatment
Techniques Albert Ellis’s rational-emotive behavior therapy
– challenging irrational beliefs and assumptions
Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy for depression– correcting cognitive distortions
Donald Meichenbaum’s stress inoculation training– practicing healthier thinking before facing a
stressor, disappointment, or frustration Group therapy
Family therapy & Marriage counseling
A cognitive therapist would be
most likely to say: A. “That sounds quite frustrating. It isn’t
easy to be in a situation like that.”
B. “Can you think of a more positive interpretation of what happened?”
C. “Just say whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or irrelevant it might seem.”
D. “Next time you start to feel anxious, you can use the relaxation techniques we’ve been working on.”
“I got an F on an important test”
Behavior
Stop studying for the course
Emotion
Depression, discouragement
Perception
This situation is overwhelming
Belief
Misconception“I must be perfectly competent & successful in
achieving before I can think of myself as worthwhile.
Behavior
Use better study skills, devote more time, get help from teacher
Emotion
Encouragement
Perception
This situation can be somewhat helpful to me
Belief
Counterbelief“Failure is not a sign of personal worthlessness. I
can learn from this experience.
REBT
Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy [REBT] helps people: 1) notice that they are operating on self-defeating assumptions, and 2) reward themselves for replacing these assumptions with realistic beliefs. For example, a more realistic belief might be, “some people won’t like me, many will have no opinion; it doesn’t matter.”
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Aaron Beck’s Therapy for Depression
Aaron Beck helped people see how their depression was worsened by errors in thinking such as catastrophizing, (interpreting current events as signs of the worst possible outcome). For example:
Beck’s style of therapy helps clients notice and challenge these errors in thinking.
“Now that I’ve made a mistake in my lecture, I’ve failed as a professor.
Students can’t take me seriously, and they can’t learn from me.”
Good for treating depression
The ABC’s of REBT
A = Activating EventWhat do you think happened? What would a camera see?
B = Beliefs about Activating EventWhat did you tell yourself?
C = ConsequencesHow did you act? How did you feel? While it may seem odd at the beginning,
you want to start somewhat backwards. Start with the (C).
Psychotherapy Examples
Rational-Emotive Behavior (REBT) approach to Psychotherapy: Albert Ellis & Gloria
https://youtu.be/SgiX0QLnpBM?t=4557
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Using cognitive behavioral therapy, people with OCD1. Feel obsessive urge to wash hands2. Relabel obsessive thought --“I’m having a compulsive
urge”3. Spend 15 minutes doing something enjoyable
Cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] works to change both cognitions and behaviors that are part of a mental
health disorder.
Psychotherapy Examples
Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT) approach to Psychotherapy: How thoughts and emotions interact with behavior
https://youtu.be/8mQZzlQXK1Q
Group Therapy
Psychotherapy with more than one client
Advantages: Economical, support of the group, non-threatening
atmosphere, provides more information and life
experiences for clients to draw upon.
Self-Help Support Groups
Groups that provide social support and an
opportunity for sharing ideas about dealing with
common problems; typically organized/run by
laypersons (not professional therapists)Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Couples Counseling or Family Therapy■ These can often be more effective than individual
therapy with one individual at a time.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
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The Relative Effectiveness of Different Therapies
Which psychotherapy would be most effective for treating a particular problem?
Disorder Therapy
Depression Behavior, Cognition, Interpersonal
Anxiety Cognition, Exposure, Stress Inoculation
Bulimia Cognitive-behavior
Phobia Behavior
Bed Wetting Behavior Modification
